Megatron Considers Retirement

Lost a little bit in the playoffs news has been a surprising little tidbit that Calvin Johnson may very well retire. It’s not final yet, but apparently he told his family and his coach that was the plan. It comes as a surprise for sure, Johnson is only 30 and is still one of the best in the game, even if he’s taken a slight step back in the previous two seasons as he’s suffered a few nagging injuries. Being a Detroit Lion all-pro who may retire in his prime draws the obvious comparison to Barry Sanders who mysteriously did the same thing. If we do lose Calvin, the football world is worse off, and we may never know what he could have accomplished had he continued to play.

I think the timing leaves him at a very strange place career wise. If he had 2-3 more seasons at his usual production, he’s a surfire hall of famer. But as of right now…he’s kind of on the bubble. Only 27th in all time yards, and 21st in all time TDs. He has no rings or even any playoff victories, something that bolsters the cases of similar receivers. At his peak he was simply a monster and one of the best we’ve ever seen, but it didn’t last long and his overall lack of longevity is going to hurt him. On top of that, there is a severe logjam in the Hall for WRs right now, and since he’s not an obvious first ballot choice that may screw him over as well. The Hall has a problem with WRs. As the passing game increases in importance, high numbers are going to become more common, and either the Hall is going to continue having an excessive logjam…or they raise their standards for entry, and Calvin’s early retirement may be his undoing. I’d like to see him make it, but at this point, if he retires, he’s either not going to make it or he’s going to be one of those players who has to wait 10 years until the committee feels bad about snubbing him.

I don’t know if Calvin will even care. He’s such an admirable, quiet guy. I’d love to see him stay because watching him play when he’s healthy is magical, but if he doesn’t, I wish him well.

Not even a little bit, man. There’s no way the Lions are giving him more than what he’s already going to get, man. Hell, they are already over-paying, and not even the Raiders would pick up this contract. The Lions won’t cut him, but they really can’t afford him, either. His last contract (still going) is freaking MONSTROUS… he’s slated to get like $24M this year. You don’t threaten retirement from that an try to get more. $21M for next year.

It’s actually not new news– there were questions about it from “people who knew” last year.

The HoF isn’t about pure numbers, but that’s the usual place to start and Johnson by-the-numbers is a bit pedestrian.

You’re correct about the modern passing game skewing current players’ numbers when comparing stats with yesteryear. When I first became interested in NFL stats, I bought the paperback “The Official National Football League Record Book (1971 Edition)”. (Alas, I don’t know what happened to it). At that time, the career record for receptions was 631 (Raymond Berry), I think the record for yards was 9275 (Berry also) and touchdowns was 99 (Don Hutson). Jerry Rice came along later and obliterated all the career records for pass receiving. Johnson has less than half of Rice’s totals for receptions and TDs and barely over half of his yardage total. But Megatron does not compare too favorably with those 45 year old records (receptions (731), yards (11,619), and TDs (83)).

I think if he retires now, he may, as you mention, get lost in the shuffle and get snubbed for HoF consideration. And playing for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game with him on the roster won’t get him any brownie points in that regard.

This franchise is amazing, they manage to squander the careers of the best running back of the 90s and the best wider receiver of the last 10 years, and crush their spirits so much that they just leave the league… Who is sadder than the Lions? (trick question I know it’s the Browns and possibly the Cards and Bills…)

That’s true, but the Cards have a long history (since before 1920) and most of it has been miserable. Since the league started in 1920 they are statistically the worst team of all time in the NFL they even managed to go 50 years without a single playoff victory (1948-1997) and 25 years without a playoff appearance. (1949-1973) and when playoff games were first a thing in 1932 it took them until 1947 to play in their first playoff game… Their win loss record all time is 542-733-39 and is the lowest winning percentage of any team in the NFL save for the Buccaneers a franchise that is 56 years younger (not counting pre NFL years.)